


You can't

by airiP4



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Brother Complex, Couffaine Siblings, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Endgame Lukanette, F/M, Family Bonding, Fluff, Juleka centric, angst with happy ending, lukanette endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25243762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airiP4/pseuds/airiP4
Summary: Juleka is not willing to accept the possibility of her brother Luka and Marinette dating, even if she wishes for her brother’s happiness.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 4
Kudos: 91





	You can't

**Author's Note:**

> You can read it on Tumblr too: https://airi-p4.tumblr.com/post/623540575662129152/you-cant  
> (pic included: https://www.deviantart.com/airipyon/art/Fic-pic-You-can-t-848603094)
> 
> Thanks to Mal for the grammar check!

“You can’t. You can’t like Marinette”

It was unusual for Juleka to be against anything related to her brother, but the words that had just left his mouth were too much to assimilate. She couldn’t agree with him no matter what.

“Why not?” 

On the other hand, Luka stayed as quiet as always, gently strumming the strings of his acoustic guitar, intending to understand his sister’s reasons, but with his resolution set.

“Because she is my friend. And she is in love with Adrien. You will only be heartbroken”

“I know that”

“Then why? There are plenty of girls and boys around! Why does it have to be Marinette? It could be anyone else!”

“It can’t be anyone else. It has to be Marinette”

Juleka was mad at her brother’s answer and at how calm he still remained. Why was he doing this to her? She didn’t want her dear brother to be hurt, or her friendship with Marinette to be compromised. Why couldn’t he understand it? 

“No, you can’t. You can’t do this to me. How can I support the girl’s plans to set Adrien and Marinette after knowing your feelings? How I’m supposed to encourage you when I’m aware of her feelings? How can I root for Adrienette when I know it’s going to break your heart? I’m not a good liar and I can’t be a good friend either knowing that”

“You don’t need to think of any of that. It’s my feelings. I’ll take care of them”

“How can you say that? You’re my brother and I love you. You’ve been always by my side, helping me, encouraging me… I want to do the same with you, but I can’t. Not as long as it’s Marinette”

“You don’t need to do anything, Jules. I’ll manage whatever comes. I’ll be happy if Marinette is happy with Adrien or anyone else”

Juleka could only get even angrier at her brother’s almost unnoticeable soft smile.

“But what about your happiness, Luka? I want you to be happy! I don’t think you can be fully happy with this”

“I’ll be happy if she is happy. I mean it”

“You should go after someone else. Someone who is not Marinette. I would be able to encourage you then. But now…”

“It can only be Marinette”

She tried to understand him, but his answers only made it even more difficult for her to accept it.

“But why!?”

“For the same reason you think it can only be Rose for you”

“It’s not the same!”

“It is. We can’t control what we feel. And I can’t control my love for Marinette. I’m not expecting her to reciprocate my feelings. I’ll feel full as long as she keeps smiling happily. Don’t you feel the same about Rose?”

“No…”

  
“Rose keeps talking about how cool Prince Ali is but you are still happy just being by her side. Isn’t it enough?”

“No, it’s not. I can’t help it but be jealous… I can’t say I’m truly happy…”

“Yet you keep smiling when she’s by your side. To the point you can overlook her crush on Prince Ali”

Juleka knew he was right. But she didn’t want to accept this reality. Not her brother’s, at least.

“We are talking about you, not me. I wish you hadn’t tell me… I hate this feeling”

“You are free to hate me, if you feel this way. But that won’t change my feelings… it doesn’t work like that. I’m sorry for compromising your friendship with Marinette”

“I can’t hate you. But I can’t support you either. I’m sorry...”

“It’s OK. Thank you for trying”

Juleka set the separation between Luka’s and her part of the room in order to avoid seeing and talking to him any further. She was going to fall asleep while giving the whole conversation a thought, yes, but she also knew she wouldn’t be able to accept it no matter how much time she spent thinking about it.

_____________

“Girls… I’ve decided to stop pursuing Adrien”

Marinette’s words stabbed Juleka’s heart as sharply as a knife.

“Why?” She asked. 

“I don’t think I have feelings for him anymore”

Marinette sounded convinced. But Juleka couldn’t help it to think it was because of her attitude towards her after knowing his brother’s feelings. Her thoughts left her mouth without thinking.

“Is it because I failed my part to support you?”

“No Juleka, that’s not it” Marinette seemed surprised, but sure about her resolve. 

“Then what is it?” Juleka insisted. She really didn’t want to be the reason of Marinette’s unhappiness. 

“It’s… it’s Luka. I’m sorry Juleka I was meant to tell you sooner but…”

The blush on Marinette cheeks as she talked about her brother triggered something inside her. Something that was surely giving her not pleasant vibrations. 

“What are you talking about?” she asked her friend, while the rest of the girls just listened to them in silence, surprised of both of their friend’s extremely rare argument. There was a vivid honest flame in Marinette’s eyes as she spoke, convinced of what she was saying. 

“I love him. I have for a while. I can’t deny my feelings for him anymore”

Marinette’s confession left all her friends astonished, including Juleka. But unlike the rest of them, who were already celebrating Marinette’s new love, the purple-haired girl wasn’t happy about her words and remained silent. Rose was the first to speak to her.

“Isn’t it good, Juleka?” the blond cute girl said, giggling happily.

“Yes! Good choice!” encouraged Alya and Alix. 

But Juleka’s words, said almost in a silent voice at first, and louder one second time, broke all the fun. 

“You can’t”

“What?” all the girls reacted in unison. 

“You can’t. You can’t love him” Stated Juleka, replying to their question.

“Why not?” asked Rose, Alya insisting too.

“Yeah, why not, girl?” 

Before answering, Juleka stood up and looked at Marinette, eyes fiercely consumed with an anger, sadness and frustration she couldn’t control, pointing a finger directly to Marinette as her words darted directly to her. 

“Because I know you’ll leave him at some point. And I don’t want you to break his fragile heart”

“Luka is not fragile” Marinette said, confidently, only fueling more Juleka’s negative thoughts and anger.

“He is. More than he appears to be. Our dad… well… he left him scars in his heart that cannot be healed” 

Juleka was at the verge of crying remembering her past. She didn’t want Luka to suffer ever again. And that included not letting Marinette break his heart. Juleka knew none of her friends could understand her at the moment, given the disgusted looks there were on their faces, but protecting his dear brother’s heart was something more important than any friendship for her. She couldn’t let it happen. And she wouldn’t. No matter how Alya, Rose or anyone tried to convince her.

“But Juleka, what about their feelings?”

“Rose is right, Juleka, Luka has already-”

Alya couldn’t finish when Juleka’s anger scream came out of her mouth, stamping her foot on the floor as she started taking her leave from Rose’s house.

“I said NO, are we clear!? You can't!”

“Juleka, wait!” of course, Rose tried to stop her. She had a frightened look in her face Juleka had never seen before. Just like Rose hadn’t ever seen Juleka angry before. Juleka hated it. She hated getting angry at her friends, she hated their disappointed and scared faces, she hated the idea of Marinette and Luka together and, what she hated the most was herself for not being able to manage any of her feelings. 

“Juleka… I’m sorry you feel like this, but I can’t stop my feelings and I’m going to confess, even if you are against it” 

Marinette never sounded this convinced when she was crushing on Adrien, so Juleka knew there was nothing she could do stop her. But that wasn’t enough. She couldn’t let go of her brother. Not to an indecisive girl like Marinette. Juleka noticed the source of her unusual confidence and stated it loudly.

“You know his feelings for you”

Marinette wasn’t surprised, in fact, she was only a little embarrassed at the fact Juleka was the sister of the boy she was in love with. She wanted to get along well with her if she and Luka were going to date. She needed her on her side if she wanted Luka be happy. She knew it was not worth it to date Luka if it ended up with their family’s good relationship falling apart. She tried to answer in full understanding, almost begging to Juleka to accept their relationship. 

“I do. And I feel the same way about him. Please, I want to make you understand...”

But Juleka couldn’t take it anymore. There was a conflict of interests inside her that almost made her head explode in stress. Of course she wanted Luka to be happy. Of course she wanted Marinette to be happy too. But still couldn’t accept this form of happiness between them. She couldn’t, even if she wished she could. The pain in her heart and head only made her anger increase. She needed to be alone. To calm down. To think. Or to forget maybe. But she needed Marinette out of her vision as soon as possible, and far from her brother too.

“You can’t. Don’t you dare get close to him!”

Juleka’s scream sounded desperate to Marinette’s ears when she started running out of Rose’s house, tears falling down her cheeks.

“Juleka!! Wait! Juleka...”

Marinette tried to stop her, of course she did. But Juleka didn’t even lock gazes with her, nor look back. Strangely enough, there was no signs of regret inside her. But there was sadness and hurt coming from her friend’s denial to accept her in her family as her brother’s girlfriend. 

____________

  
  


“Juleka, your brother and Marinette have started dating. Let’s go give them our blessings”

Anarka sounded genuinely happy for his son as she spoke to her sister about his first love and now girlfriend. But Juleka could only frown in anger and frustration at the sight of them happily together.

“I can’t. And you can’t either, mom” she said, looking at her feet in a mix of sadness and anger.

“Why not? They look so in love with each other… You should be happy for them!”

Captain Anarka was known for her energy, optimism and love and encouraging towards her children, so Juleka was not surprised with her answer. She knew her mother was not good at taking things seriously either, so she wasn’t optimistic about getting any backing from her to go against Luka and Marinette’s relationship. But Juleka was not happy. And she was willing to let everyone know.

“Well, I’m not. I’m not happy” she answered.

“Why not?” 

Obligatory question from her mother, as expected. But she was ready to finally speak her feelings bottled inside her for days, ever since Luka confessed her he had romantic feelings for her friend. Her answer had been repeating inside her head at all times, daily, for more than a week, so she knew every single coma of it.

“I can’t because I’ve spent 2 years helping Marinette to get closer to Adrien, without being aware of Luka's feelings, hurting him without knowing it. And now, when Adrien starts dating Kagami, she just comes to Luka claiming she loves him? Were those 2 years a lie? What the hell have I been doing all this time? Going against my brother interests and helping his girlfriend get closer to another boy? How can I be called a good sister?”

“Oh, Juleka…” Anarka was sympathetic at her daughter.

“And Marinette… What does Luka even mean to her? Is he her plan B for when things with Adrien doesn’t work out? Is he just some kind of excuse not to be alone? Is she just desperate for love? Anyone’s love. Why does it have to be Luka? It could have been anyone else! She’ll only leave him heartbroken at some point… and I hate that! I don’t want to see Luka hurt. Never again”

Just like all the negative feelings and frustrated bottled up, she broke and left rivers of tears out of her big eyes. Days of contained emotions spilling out of her. Frustration, anger, sadness and fear, all together in form of salty water finally finding a way out after reaching its maximum capacity of stress. She was trembling as she cried hard, like a baby. It had been years since she cried that much, feeling like a part of herself was leaving her soul along her until recently contained waterfalls. She was embarrassing herself in front of her mother, and she hated it. She hated not being able to cope with her own emotions. For not being stronger. For being selfish… The stress was too much for her and she broke to a level she could never imagine. Seeing Juleka so broken was hurting even a tough heart like Anarka’s. Of course, she had a soft spot for her daughter, but it still was unusual for her. 

“Oh, Juleka… That’s not how love work, sweetheart. You can’t choose love. It comes striking you like a tsunami, like a gale of emotions inside your heart, making you unable to keep your feet on the ground. How is anyone supposed to control that at age 14? It’s impossible. Mistakes are bound to happen. Misunderstandings too. Just take a look at them and you’ll see the love in their eyes"

"I can't" her sobbing continued, despite her efforts to stop it. Anarka hugged her daughter tightly as she spoke.

"Look, Marinette did a mistake choosing the wrong boy at first, yes. But now that she is older she is aware of her needs and true feelings. She is dating Luka because that’s what she feels. What both of them feel. Wouldn’t you be the happiest if Rose stopped talking about Prince Ali and focused only in you?”

“I… I guess so, but…” Juleka managed to say between sobbing hiccups. 

"Would you think you're Rose's plan B if she did?" he mother asked.

"I don't know… maybe…" 

The more she listened to her mother, the voice of wisdom of her life, along with her brother’s the more confused she became. She had been aware of her wrong way of thinking. She still was aware of how pointless it was. But still couldn’t eat her pride and accept them… But she thought her mother’s words are worth listening, as she is the voice of experience.

“I don't think you would. Because Rose already loves you very much and you are the one who has been the closest to her. She just isn't aware of her feelings yet. Just like Marinette in the past"

"..." 

Juleka couldn’t speak. She wanted to believe her mother’s words so bad, she somehow stopped crying, still thinking about Luka and Marinette’s relationship. She knew she had to accept it… She knew she had. But it was too much weight on her shoulders. Too much pride to throw away. Too much negative feelings attached in form of remorse.

“C'mon, dear. Just accept their feelings and give them your blessings. That will be more than enough”

“But I can’t, mom. I’m a bad sister. And a bad friend. I couldn’t help either of them when they needed me…” 

Anarka smiled at her daughter’s apologetic face, wiping the traces of the tears that remained on her face with a handkerchief Juleka ended up taking to blow her nose. 

“You can do it, sweetheart. Ladybug would say it’s never too late to repair your mistakes. Your apology will be enough for them. They’ll welcome you. I’m sure of it”

“Thank you, mom… I’ll try…” 

Juleka’s eyes recovered her hope for the first time in days and Anarka was relieved and happy to see how fond she was for her brother. 

“My baby, you just love your brother so much, don’t you? Don’t worry, even if Luka has a girlfriend now, he won’t ever stop loving you. You’re his sister. He’ll always be there for you”

Anarka’s words shocked Jueleka. Of course she cared deeply for her brother. Very deeply. He had been her big brother forever, her father figure even. He had been her best friend, her saviour, her first love, too… He had been her everything. Even when she was starting to become a weight for him or when she was in the way for him to make friends his age… He never complained or left her side. She had been able to tell just in time she was in the way and had stopped clinged to him. But not even then Luka left her side. He let her act freely, but never hesitated to ask her about her feelings. Their sibling love was a treasure for Juleka, and maybe, just maybe, this was the reason she couldn’t accept Marinette taking part of her place… But Anarka was right. A sibling bond is unbreakable. And Luka was going to be there for her no matter what. It was her time to give him the freedom he couldn’t have because of her… Yes… it was time to swallow all the tears, are the pain, all the pride and jealousy and give the new couple her blessings. But there’s still a part of her pride that couldn’t let her agree with her mother’s words. 

“That’s ridiculous… You make it sound like have a brother complex...” Juleka pouted, cursing how her enemy’s favourite word left out of her own mouth. Anarka could only giggle and kiss her precious daughter’s forehead.

“Of course, my child, of course…”

With Anarka’s arm around Juleka, hands over her shoulders, mother and daughter approached the new couple, who were teasing each other with little hand and cheek kisses, blushing and smiling. They certainly looked the happiest Juleka had ever seen either of them and she felt awful for trying to stop this happiness to bloom. Shyly, she called their names to catch their attention.

“Luka... Marinette...”

“Juleka” Both of them turned to face her, Luka’s arm around Marinette in a protective manner, but still smiling softly. 

Their smiling faces made Juleka feel even more apologetic as she asked for their forgiveness in a shy and simple, but more than enough words. 

“I'm sorry I was wrong. You can”

Marinette and Luka exchanged looks and their faces shined bright of happiness. Both of them jumped to hug Juleka in the most affectionate hug her brother or her friend had ever given to her, making her tear up again. She could feel loved and not even a slight of resentment against her. Changes weren’t always meant to be bad. Juleka understood, as she could feel how Marinette’s affection resembled the one from how she imagined a sister would feel like. Changes can be a happy thing too. And she couldn’t feel even more stupid for restraining this new feeling even from her own self.

But no more. She could and they could. All of them could find happiness in their new formed bond. Juleka had two sincere words she still wanted to say, even if they were already implied in how tightly she hugged the couple back. But she still wanted to say it. And she did.

“Thank you”

**FIN**

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
